“Big Little Lies” Season 2 Officially a Go With Andrea Arnold Directing

HBO

HBO has officially ordered a second season of BIG LITTLE LIES, the premium cable network announced Friday.

“I’m excited to announce the return of Big Little Lies,” said Casey Bloys, president, HBO programming, in a statement. “David Kelley wrote beautiful scripts and Reese and Nicole were, once again, a force to be reckoned with, reuniting the cast and recruiting the talented Andrea Arnold to direct. We look forward to working with this amazing group of artists.”

Series stars Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon are officially slated to return to both star and executive produce, while the company expects most of the cast – including Shailene Woodley, Laura Dern and Zoe Kravitz – to return.

Andrea Arnold is coming onto the second season to direct all seven episodes, replacing Jean-Marc Vallee, who executive produced and directed the first season.

David E. Kelley is writing and executive producing, as he did on Season 1. Kelley will write all seven scripts partially based on a story by the novel’s author Liane Moriarty, and executive produce; along with executive producers Kidman and Per Saari through Blossom Films, Witherspoon through Hello Sunshine, Bruna Papandrea, Vallée, his producing partner Nathan Ross, Gregg Fienberg and Arnold.

“I’m thrilled to be bringing back this talented team of artists,” said Witherspoon. “It gives us the opportunity to delve deeper into the lives of these intriguing and intricate Monterey families and bring more of their stories back to the audience who embraced and championed them. I’m beyond excited to be working with talented and acclaimed director Andrea Arnold who will be at the helm. Andrea’s unique storytelling style will be a welcome addition to the filmmaking team.”

“This is inspired by the overwhelming response by audiences around the world, conceived once again by Liane Moriarty, realized by David Kelley and now in the hands of visionary filmmaker Andrea Arnold,” added Kidman. “What a journey this has been. I’m so grateful to have this opportunity to keep exploring these female characters and make this series with my friends.”

There have been questions about whether there would be more Big Little Lies ever since the first season – which saw the suburban moms of Monterey, California, team up to take down Alexander Skarsgard’s abusive husband character – became a massive hit with both critics and fans.

In July, Kidman told Tracking Board Vallee was a holdout for a second season, but she, Witherspoon and many others involved with the show consistently expressed their desire to reunite for another season.

Linda Ge | TV Editor